In an article entitled “Russia circumventing Canadian sanctions to buy mine detonators: report” for The Globe & Mail, Steven Chase wrote about Russia evading sanctions imposed by Canada for its invasion of Ukraine through Central Asia. According to the World Liberty Congress, an alliance of pro-democracy activists from authoritarian countries co-founded in 2022 by the […]
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Country: Russia
Diamonds Are Not Forever: Analysing Ineffectiveness of Diamond Embargo in Hurting Russia’s Economy
This Policy note presents a brief analysis of the expected ban imposed by the West on the import of Russian diamonds. The Policy note was prepared by the Open Dialogue Foundation to support international efforts aimed at limiting Russia’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine. The Foundation would like to thank Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakhstani […]
”Bitcoin is borderless” Conference — how to combat financial exclusion worldwide?
Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), participated in the Bitcoin Amsterdam Conference, which took place from 12 to 14 October 2023. During the panel discussion at the conference Bitcoin is borderless, she shared her story of how Bitcoin allowed her to fight for human rights, help Ukraine during the war, and deal […]
Russia’s Decade-Long War Against Ukraine: How to Accelerate Ukrainian Victory
Executive Summary This report is the sixth in a series of reports on how Russia circumvents sanctions with the help of Central Asian countries, particularly by way of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The subject of this report is an analysis of global trends and facts that point to Russia’s ability to accumulate sufficient resources for at […]
Submission to the European Parliament and European Commission on the issue of sanctions circumvention
The Open Dialogue Foundation would like to thank the experts in the preparation of the submission. The Foundation would also like to express its gratitude to Mukhtar Ablyazov, an opposition politician and former Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade of Kazakhstan, for his advice. This submission contains the following information: Overview of Russia’s economic ability […]
Showing Humanitarian Face of Bitcoin at Central Bankers’ Forum
The Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) was invited to the May 2023 Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City, a high-profile gathering for central bankers, bankers, and the financial services industry, to discuss the role of digital currency in times of crisis and humanitarian aid. ODF’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Katarzyna Szczypska, argued in her closing keynote […]
Russia’s Accomplices in the War Against Ukraine: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Army’s Reliable Rear
Executive summary To analyse Kyrgyzstan’s capacity to help Russia circumvent sanctions, it is important to consider the internal political situation in Kyrgyzstan under President Sadyr Japarov. Kyrgyzstan has long been considered an “island of freedom” in Central Asia, with a number of independent media outlets, independent MPs and an active civil society. However, the authoritarian […]
The Beneficiaries of Russia’s War Against Ukraine. How the Nazarbayev-Tokayev Regime is Helping Putin
Executive summary In 2022 and 2023, the Kazakhstani authorities have repeatedly convinced the international community of their alleged commitment to “preventing the use of the Kazakhstani territory to bypass sanctions”. “Appropriate measures” have been adopted (such as the creation of a “list of sanctioned goods”, the signing of a law “on the control of specific […]
Italian legislators: stop and prevent the abuse of AML/CFT laws by dictators
On 17 and 18 April 2023, a delegation led by the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) conducted an advocacy mission to Rome to raise awareness on the abuse of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) rules perpetrated by authoritarian regimes as a tool for transnational repression, and to expose how Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan […]
Everything for the Front. Everything for Victory. How Tokayev Helps Putin while Fooling Ukraine and the West
Executive summary It has been a year since Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. All this time, Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev-Tokayev regime has been assisting Russia with impunity in circumventing sanctions and financing the war against Ukraine. On 28 February 2023, on the day of the first official visit to Kazakhstan by the U.S. Secretary of […]
The Secret of Tokayev and Putin: How to Circumvent the Oil Embargo
1. Introduction Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Kazakhstani authorities has repeatedly declared its “respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” [1], [2], [3]. Kazakhstani officials try to assure Ukraine and the international community that Kazakhstan is “complying with the sanctions” against Russia, although it is not “joining them“. In practice, the […]
Kremlin’s Secret Ally. How Tokayev is Helping Putin Circumvent Sanctions
1. Introduction After Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kazakhstani authorities stated that Kazakhstan “respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine” and “has not and will not recognise both the situation with Crimea and the situation with Donbass” [1], [2]. In June 2022, President Tokayev declared non-recognition of the so-called “LPR” […]
“If they don’t like you, they will treat you like meat” – it is how Mariupol refugees see filtration camps
People from Mariupol are heading to Poland via Russia, Belarus or Estonia, and then further to the West. The further the better. Away from the stench of corpses in the city. To escape from months spent in the cellar and the horror of bombing. And away from the house where an 8-year-old child was burnt […]
Bartosz Kramek denies Russian ambassador incident claim. Press briefing by the Open Dialogue Foundation
“We neither organised nor inspired yesterday’s action. This act was not carried out by Poles, this is Ukrainian blood and emotions, which are completely legitimate,” said Bartosz Kramek, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation, during a press briefing convened in front of the RF Embassy the day after the incident in […]
“Lies, Putin’s methods!” Those accused by the right wing of dousing the Russian ambassador with fake blood deny the allegations
Dousing the Russian Ambassador Sergey Andreev with fake blood not only led to a diplomatic scandal, but also caused an avalanche of accusations. The nationalists and the PiS party MP Radosław Fogiel alleged that the Open Dialogue Foundation was behind the stunt, while ODF’s Chair of the Board replied that this claim is “ridiculous and […]